Television Obsession

I saw Troy yesterday. It is possibly the worst movie ever made. Brad Pitt was really, really hot in it though. I can't even get into all the ways that movie sucked because I would be writing this post all day. But I think everyone should see it so we can talk about the ways it sucks next time I see you.

I saw Vincent Gallo yesterday. Last time I saw him I was waitressing and he came into my restaurant for brunch. He asked me if my tattoo said his name. I see why he has a reputation of being really into himself. But honestly I thought that was a more charming comment than the usual: random creepy person: "what does that say?" me: "nothing, it's just a design" random creepy person: "really? it doesn't say anything?" me: "yep, really." This is a departure from TV, but what is it about tattoos and cute dogs that just invites everyone to start talking to you? I was walking my dog one time and talking to my really good friend long distance at the same time - and some crazy lady comes up to me and starts asking me all the dumb dog questions. I was like, "I'm on the phone" and she totally glared and me and got all pissed.

Arrested Development will be airing on Sundays again, but Fox has made one concession and moved the show to 8:30 (I usually aired at 9:30, directly opposite Curb Your Enthusiasm for the first few months it was on, and now directly opposite the Sopranos. Basically trying any new show on Sunday nights in the 9-10 slot is suicide. Hello, Sundays are HBO.) Set your Tivos, Arrested Development will be airing June 2004 -January 2005 in that timeslot. The question is, are they airing new episodes starting in June? I'm thinking not, since I saw Jason Bateman on the Daily Show not that long ago saying he didn't know if it would be renewed for a second season. Well, it's your opportunity to catch the first season, since no one was watching it the first time.

I just saw Courtney Love stumble out of the fashion showroom in my building. Normally I never notice celebrities that I see around - but lately there has been a plethora of them in my orbit. Last night I saw David Cross for the third time this month. Granted, he does live in my neighborhood, but I just keep running into that guy. The first time he was hanging out with a pal at a bar, the next time he was flirting with a young girl, and this time some crazy man was yelling "dude, you're that guy!" at him and he was cracking up. I wanted to say, "hey, I'm so glad Arrested Development is back" but I didn't want to be that person who talks to celebrities as if she knows them. I did have a very intense dream about David Cross where I just kept asking him if he knew whether Arrested Development was going to be renewed for a second season. (the anxiety had seeped into my dreams, very sad.) Yesterday I was eating at Cafe Habana, which is the biggest hotspot for celebrity sightings in this city I think, and I saw that guy Sam from Extreme Makeover who gives the people fashion advice and some new clothes. He was looking like he needed a makeover himself, starting with wiping off some of that fake tan. Last time I ate at Cafe Habana I ran into Luke Wilson as I was leaving the bathroom and he said "thanks " to me.

I claimed at one point that I would say things about music and film. It turns out that only discussing TV is enough to keep me busy. And it also turns out that I have absolutely nothing to say about music. At one point in my life it was my supreme obsession (although I still never managed to match a boy-level encyclopedic knowledge of any of it) but I really don't have much to say about it these days. Probably because I don't really enjoy going to shows anymore. My patience for sitting through a bunch of crappy bands has departed in my old age. And in the last few years I realized that standing up in one place for a while is really tiring. I did see a movie recently though - "Super Size Me". The main thing I took away from the film was that even though I rarely eat McDonalds, I do eat a lot of crap and rarely eat vegetables. I guess I knew that on an intellectual level before, but now I feel compelled to actually try to eat better. The day after I saw the film I bought some kale. I also learned from the movie that when I have kids they are only eating organic food and are not allowed to drink soda or eat fast food. Yes, I will be that kind of parent. What a bummer that is to learn about oneself.

Yes! Fox ordered more episodes of Arrested Development for next season! Now everyone has to start watching it. Hopefully they'll put it in a better time slot. My hopes for the future of TV have been raised slightly. Although I'm nervous for the potentially disastrous American version of the Office. They'll probably totally f it up.

I love Best Week Ever on VH1. If you get cable and aren't watching it, please start. There was some VO (voiceover for those of you who aren't in the business) in the last episode that actually said something like "Best Week Ever: who needs book learning?" Love it.

On the Gilmore Girls this week, Jess was pretending to read an issue of Punk Planet, while actually reading some self help book about love. Those Gilmore Girls writers are so clever. There was one weird thing about the episode, which was that Jess confronted Rory about how he's in love with her, and wanted her to run away with him or something, and she acted like she totally hated him. And she's acting all excited about Dean, who is married, all of the sudden. As a longtime Gilmore Girls viewer, I know that Rory dumped Dean for Jess, and was totally obsessed with him for a while. Therefore I found it odd that she seemed so repelled by Jess in this episode. Then I learned some backstory, which is that the actor playing Jess wants to leave Gilmore Girls to be in plays or something. That explains it.

I accidentally saw my second episode of the wretched Swan last night - it was playing at the bar I was at. If possible, this episode was even more disturbing than the first one I saw. One of the women was actually pretty before she went under the knife, with a little mascara and some regular workouts she would have easily been above average looking. After the knife she looked like a Miller Lite Girl. Which I guess was her goal. It's all so creepy and Stepford Wives-like. It's this insane Maxim magazine ideal of beauty - and it's disturbing that these women are so eager to discard any individuality in favor of being seen as a sex object. I think being relatively attractive makes your life easier, but anyone I've known who is beautiful in that Maxim way has other problems. Like the fact that the only guys confident enough to try to date them are complete assholes. I can't help but wonder what the Swan team of surgeons would do to someone like Uma Thurman... make her look like Pamela Anderson?

The OC Posse finally watched the last two episodes of this season last night. My only thoughts are that they kinda overdid the drama for those last two episodes - hookers, vegas, catfights that end up in the pool, and a pregnancy - (not to mention Ryan moving to Chino suddenly) it all makes my head spin. The big question is what's left for next season? And how can we all wait until the fall? it's so far away...

Fox has decided to bring the Swan back for a second season. It is truly a sad day in television. I think they are going to renew Tru Calling as well, though I haven't heard for sure yet. The show, while still suffering from terrible dialogue writing, has gotten a lot more interesting plotwise, so I don't think it's a disaster to bring it back. But, of course, the show I am most desperate to see return for a second season is Arrested Development. I hope that Fox can see beyond lackluster ratings and renew the show based solely on its incredible critical acclaim. If they would just move it out of the 9:30 on Sundays slot, and actually air an episode every week, that would probably improve their ratings within a few weeks. But hey, I'm not a Fox programming executive, so what do I know. I know the show is wicked funny and I want to see more episodes, that's what I know.